Improving public libraries in Nigeria

There are different types of libraries; they include the national library, the academic library, the school library, the special library, and finally the public library. However each type of library is distinguished by the users it serves and services it renders. But basically all the types of libraries have the basic function of acquiring, organizing, […]

There are different types of libraries; they include the national library, the academic library, the school library, the special library, and finally the public library. However each type of library is distinguished by the users it serves and services it renders. But basically all the types of libraries have the basic function of acquiring, organizing, storing and disseminating information.
Coming down to public library which is the main focus of this article,  they are expected to play an indispensable role in the life of the community they serve, one of which is the promotion of reading culture among members of the society be it in the rural or urban settings.
They are also expected to provide good information and reference centre for the masses through the building of collections that relates to local interest. This collection should be book and non book materials and should be properly organized, integrated, and equally preserved.
The public library is expected to offer different kinds of services to users, these services includes reference, extension, audiovisual and training services.
Going by the foregoing roles and functions of the public libraries the question now is that are public libraries in Nigeria meeting up to expectations and providing the necessary services in this 21st century?

In a recent survey carried out by Aissa Issak on the situation of public library services in Nigeria, the result shows that public libraries services have declined dramatically over the past year due to the effect of both the economic and political situation in the country. The financial crisis has affected the structure and maintenance of the building, the size, and the contents of the collections and the overall provision of services. So therefore, the main library activity now is just to serve as reading and study rooms for students, who in the majority of cases use their own materials and do not consult the library collections.
The financial crisis is not only the problem, but also public libraries lack adequate and professional manpower needed to handle the affairs of the library. Even with the availability of few staff, the inability of the state government to train them in the field of library profession to some extent affects the quality of services rendered by them.
With the advent of ICTs, most libraries in this 21st century are migrating from traditional library settings and provision of services to the digital or electronic library settings. This is however not true of most public libraries in Nigeria. Most public libraries have not been able to computerize their collections, not to even talk of using computers to provide services, but rather they are still indulging in the use of traditional library setting to provide services to users.
Another picture of public libraries in Nigeria is that it lacks well defined policies. This is, however very crucial if any development is to be achieved. Most public libraries only make provision of services that targets a specific group of users which of course are literate ones, so therefore they favour the urban areas neglecting the rural areas.
Also public libraries have not been able to establish reading culture through reading skills, and habit due to the presence of weak publishing industries, inadequate bibliographic systems and also lack of inter library cooperation amongst them.
Having highlighted the situation of public libraries in Nigeria, for them to meet up to the expectations as available in other countries of the world, there is need for the state government who are the principal supporters of the public libraries to provide all the necessary funds required for the smooth operation and provision of necessary services to the users. Public libraries should not only rely on international donor agencies but rather should be able to acquire all the informational materials needed in terms of book and non book materials and not serving as mere reading or study room.
Also public libraries in Nigeria should move from the traditional library settings and provision of services to the digital library settings (e-library), through the use of ICTs in the provision of services and organization of their collections.
More so, qualified and trained manpower in the library profession should be recruited with good salary and wage packages as available in the other types of library, and those already in the system should be trained from time to time in order to keep abreast with the developmental change in the library profession in terms of knowledge and service delivery.
Above all the state governments should recognize the importance of public libraries to the society and should have total commitment to them by providing them with all the necessary assistance needed to move them forward.       
Abdulkarim writes from Kaduna